Hope Academy For Dyslexics

Nonprofit Issues:

Education

Address:

5353 Concord Blvd Judy DaviesConcordCA94521USA

Mission:

The primary mission of Hope Academy, an independent not-for-profit school, is to assist students with language-based learning disabilities, like dyslexia, realize their educational and social potential through a researched-based, success oriented, multi-sensory approach and environment.

Results:

As we enter our fifth year in operation, we look forward to raising funds for assistive technology for our classrooms, a playground and beginning to plan for a new facility/more central location.

Target demographics:

Students in grades 1-8 who exhibit difficulty in language acquisition and processing. 20% of the world's population is dyslexic. We are passionate about availing our campus to the many underserved students in our area. A diagnosis of dyslexia is not the "tragedy." The true "tragedy" occurs when that student is deemed "unteachable" or "lazy."

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Reviews for Hope Academy For Dyslexics

Hope Academy works. The method has taught my son in six months concepts and practices that he never learned in public school. He was falling further and further behind and no one could quite pinpoint what was going on with him. Hope is teaching him. I feel so relieved and he feels great now! He is experiencing success and in turn he likes himself more, he is proud of his work, he likes to tell people about his school. I am so grateful and will be forever. My son's future is full of potential.

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Hope Academy has given my son the tools to reach his potential academically, socially, and emotionally. My son does not like to try new things. He and I were both filled with anxiety when I dropped him off at Hope Academy on his first day (he was 10 years old entering 5th grade). But it was all worth it when I picked him up and he had a big smile on his face! I was shocked!

I immediatley noticed that my son seemed happier and his self esteem improved dramatically whithin a short time period. I will forever be thankful for just those gifts. The teachers and staff at Hope Academy are so compassionate and they care in a way that I've never witnessed from other teachers, who all seemed well meaning.

Now let's talk about academics, after all that is why we send our children to school. Hope Academy engages in testing at the beginning of their students' admission to set their individual baselines. My son is attending Hope Academy because, like the other students that attend Hope, he was struggling in a traditional classroom. This is where many of the stories sound so similiar. He was reading and performing at far below grade level. So it wasn't surprising that his initial testing showed such. Now the good news; when he was tested at the end of the school year, the progress that he showed was amazing! He was in the "average" range in almost all areas! He was far below average when he started. The progress he made is exceptional!

I'm looking forward to another year of significant growth! I'm now ashamed to admit it but before Hope I didn't dare dream that my son could ever be above-average in academics. I was having difficulty imagining that he would ever attend college. I now allow myself to believe that he can be above-average academically and I'm hopeful, or more accurately, I'm optimistic that this year's testing results will show such.

The multi-sensory approach to teaching and learning has been significant for my son's progress. Further, the intensive learning environment has really helped him flourish. Prior to Hope Academy homework time was a nightmare. I don't care to recall the many times it ended in tears for both my son and myself over the years. Now, when I get home from work, his homework is complete and I just have to check it. This gift is another for which I am so thankful.

Hope Academy really is a gift. The teachers and staff and their committment to follow the vision and mission of the school are what make this institution so spectial. It is difficult to find the words to express the gratitude that I feel towards Hope Academy and to describe the hope it has given me....how appripriate considering the name.

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

My son's academic progress and his emotional well being. He suffered from anxiety prior to attending Hope Academy and he now is a confident boy that realizes that he is smart and can succeed.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

While the location for me personally is ideal (less than two miles from where I live); I believe the school would be able to attract more students and therefore help more kids if it were more centrally located. Because I have witnessed first-hand the benefits of this school I would like it to me more accessible for others.

My grandson was in third grade in public school and could barely read at a 1st grade level. Between 3rd and 4th grade he was able to go to summer school at Hope Academy and in the four weeks there he was reading much better. Stephen has now been blessed to have continued school at Hope for three more years and he has been doing so well. I feel totally indebted to this wonderful school and the awesome teachers. I hate to think what my grandson's life would of been like without Hope Academy. He has so much confidence in his self and no longer cries and calls himself stupid. He thrives at Hope Academy and his story is similar to almost all the students attending Hope.

I teach science enrichment at Hope Academy, so I see first-hand how amazingly successful the students there are in their growth in ability to read and in their love of learning. This school was founded in love and dedication to children who have difficulty succeeding in traditional classrooms because they have dyslexia, which is both a gift overall because these kids are creative and super intelligent and have a unique perspective, but an an obstacle to learning in mass education situations.
At Hope, every child's individuality shines. It's like walking into a garden full of sunshine where fantastically different and beautiful flowers are thriving. They are given just the right amount of what they need just at the right moment. They are challenged, expectations are sky-high, they work very hard. But the work is designed for them, they succeed, and they are happy and confident. Hope Academy is an example of what is possible.

There is not enough space here for all the nice positive words I could write to tell you how our family feels about Hope Academy.
My son was diagnosed with Dyslexia in first grade. He had struggled in public school for years also getting extra tutoring outside of school to try to help him to read, write and perform math. He made minimal gains until he went to Hope Academy.
He has soared academically and his self-esteem has risen after the gains he has made at this school. They have an outstanding program for kids who need multi-sensory instruction.
The staff and teachers are so dedicated and wonderful.
His dream was to be able to read anything he wanted to and his dream has come true thanks to Hope Academy!!

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Our daughter was diagnosed with Dyslexia in 3rd Grade. She struggled in school and was just getting by. Public schools do not have the resource to help her and the teachers have no ideas how to help her since they are not trained in Dyslexia. We are so blessed that we have found Hope Academy. She loves going to school everyday, enjoys all her friends and has learned that dyslexia will not hold her back from accomplishing all her goals in Life. Everyday she comes home sharing all that she has learned that day. Hope Academy has been a God sent. Thanks to the wonderful teachers and staff.

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

We parents at Hope Academy have a strikingly similar stories: my child is obviously capable (even smart), yet she is struggling. We parents sense something wrong long before a teacher says it aloud. We are given the news that our child struggles with reading then begin to search far and wide for diagnoses and "cures." We are told that we cannot get help until our child is 2 years behind but we are unwilling to wait that long.

What a relief it is to share my story with other parents and here that I am not alone! And that is just the beginning of the relief.

The students feel the burden lifted as well. My daughter, like many of the other incoming Hope students, dreaded school, suffered stomach aches and headaches, thought of herself as stupid when she was in traditional education. After 3 years at Hope, she has blossomed into a confident student who agrees with her teachers' assessments that she is intelligent. She has become an advocate for herself, often explaining to friends and extended family what dyslexia is and how it affects her. She willingly and proudly reads.

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Hope Academy is filling an educational void in our community. A significant portion of the population (10-20%) has some form of dyslexia and our public schools are pressed with such a variety of demands that they are unable to address the needs of kids with specific learning difficulties .
The staff at Hope is trained in a proven (Orton/Gillingham, Slingerland) method that provides the tools needed to make language accessible to a whole population of children that would otherwise face a tremendous amount of academic failure.
I have personally seen the change in children's concept of themselves shift from, under-confident, uncertain , even some self loathing ( which is heartbreaking to see in a young person ) to viewing themselves as intelligent, valuable, competent learners.
When you are given the tools to reach your potential it is amazing to see what can happen. Hope is just the kind of place to get those tools.
Great staff, great kids, great atmosphere for success!

My son was diagnosed with Dyslexia in the 2nd grade. He was attending a private school that did not have any resources to teach him, or teachers that understood how to teach a child who is Dyslexic. We arraigned a meeting with the local public school by our house and were told that we would be on a "wait and see mode" because our son was "only" in the second grade and that the public school wouldn't want to do anything until he was at "least two years behind" his grade level. This was not acceptable for my wife and I.
We tried a very expensive school fpr Dyslexics for two years, 25 miles from our home, before Hope Academy opened there doors. Knowing more about Dyslexia and feeling better equipped with what our expectations and goals were we enrolled at Hope Academy. My wife and I both thank Judy Davies for her resolve to start Hope Academy.
Hope Academy is not only needed for our children, but should be used as an example for how our children can learn when being taught by qualified teachers in an enviornment that is set to be equal for all that are there.
My son now has the confidence to achieve all the goals he has set for himself and he walks confidently towards meeting those goals, in part because Hope Academy gave him the tools to succced.
THANK YOU HOPE ACADEMY. THANK YOU JUDY,

My daughter, Jennifer has learning challeges and she was frustrated in the public school and was having trouble with the work. She was teased by her peers and she was feeling bad about going to school. I found Hope Academy and now she loves going to school and she is making friends. She realizes she is not alone in her struggles while learning. She knows that she can succeed and just learns differently from the majority. This is her second year and she has a more positive outlook on life and is so much happier. My friends at church have commented that her attitute is so much more positive. I thank God for the teachers at Hope Academy and am so thankful for the school.